Capitola Book Cafe going out of business

Capitola Book Cafe, which has been in business for 34 years, has announced that it will close its doors for good at the end of February.

“It became clear a couple of years ago that a large, general, destination bookstore like ours was unsustainable,” the store’s owners wrote in a letter posted on its website. “We made a dwindling budget stretch beyond the laws of physics. All of this granted us time, but despite everyone’s efforts, a long-term solution never materialized.”

Capitola Book Cafe’s four owners — Melinda Powers, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Janet Leimeister and Richard Lange — took over the large, 5,500-square-foot store in the coastal Santa Cruz County city in 2007. They had been employees of the previous owners.

“We just happened to be this beautiful old Cadillac in an electric-car world,” Mayer-Lochtefeld said by phone. What she’ll miss the most, she added, is “the air and energy” of the place. “And that’s so difficult to monetize.”

In their letter, the owners wrote, “In retrospect, our timing on the brink of a severe economic downturn and rapidly changing book industry was far from optimal, but we were passionate, driven, and committed to keeping this wonderful place alive. Through hard work, the generosity of our customers, and the support of bosses who never managed to fully ‘retire,’ we made it for seven years.”

The booksellers urged locals to frequent nearby independent bookstores like Bookshop Santa Cruz and Crossroads in Watsonville. “Let’s heed this reminder not to take them for granted, but to remember that each of us plays a part in determining their value and sustainability.”

The store said it would liquidate everything in stock by the end of the month. “The best way you can pay tribute to this magical place is to leave it the way you did on your best day here, with a pile of books in your hands.”